When good plans backfire

I have a hip injury that is stopping me from getting some long runs in leading up to the marathon. I only needed on more long run to make sure my body would know what to expect on race day. So, my plan was to do lots of cross training, in particular, cycling. At least, so I thought, my legs would be getting a good workout. A few short runs and a few long rides was working well, until...the good plan.

The plan was to join a group of young guys heading out for a long ride, exhaust my legs, and then on Friday go for a moderate run. This way my legs would get the feel of the final 10kms but without all the pounding I would need to put my legs through with a long run. So goeth the plan.

On Thursday a number of us headed out for a 100km ride. Two of us were doing a round trip while the rest of the group was going to stay over night and head back the next day. The key mistake was in the positive assertion that we could get water along the way. We could get water, just not purified water. If I was going to drink enough water not to dehydrate I would need to drink village water. This can be hit and miss. Sometimes it's just fine. Other times your body doesn't respond well to it and you get sick - really, really sick. That's the backfire.

Friday was spent in bed with fever, body pain and diarrhea. Saturday was spent fatigued and exhausted. Today is stomach cramps and headaches. It sounded like a good plan when I headed out.

With three weeks to go the training now has to wind back. Whatever speed I have I have. Whatever endurance I have attained I have attained. Very little improvement will come from the final 3 weeks. The most important thing now is not to get sick. Getting sick is far more dangerous to starting and finishing the marathon than any progress that can be made at this late state. Ambition is great at the start but at this stage reality must govern the training. Too much and I'll hurt or exhaust myself and perhaps catch something. Too little is better at this stage.

Hopefully I can get in a 20km run and few 10-15km runs but the most important thing is to stay healthy.

3 weeks to go.

Apparently, this may kill me sooner than later

I was watching a Youtube Tedx video entitled "Run for your life! At a comfortable pace, and not too far: James O'Keefe". The gist of the talk is that running more than 20 miles (36km) per week is not too good for you and could in fact undo all the benefits of runners. While this talk has brought out some critics such as this article from Runners World,  there are some take home applications which both Alex Hutchinson and James O'Keefe do agree on. And Ill finish with my thoughts on the matter.

Firstly, yes, running too much is detrimental to your health. Nobody disputes that. The question of course is how much is too much. Where that line is nobody really knows and while James O'Keefe, a research cardiologist, has some opinions at this stage the evidence is unclear and unconfirmed. What Dr. James does suggest is that we all should get out there and do something; exercise a bit each day and you will be significantly healthier and live longer than if you do nothing. So the first take home application is that we should exercise, at least a little bit.

If Dr. O'Keefe is right, then long endurance based exercise over 25 years will shorten your life by about 6 years, the same amount if you did no exercise. My second point would be this - who cares? I don't know anyone who is out there doing long endurance based exercises because they must. Anybody who is exercising because they have to don't get into endurance based events and maintain that for 25 years. If you do something you love for 25 years and die 6 years earlier then that seems like a good trade. I'm a twin. Do you know how many twins live past 100? I know of one set of twins. Genetically, I'm wired to die early. I intend to live well with the years I have and if you love exercising for long periods then enjoy it. And remember, nobody really knows for sure if Dr. O'Keefe is right yet so he may be wrong.


Lastly, it turns out that diet is really important - who knew? You can be fit and thin and really unhealthy. You may be fit and still get a heart attack. What we eat impacts us on the inside even if the muscles are big and the girth is narrow.  What we eat affects our arteries and if we put junk in then no amount of exercise, either strength training or endurance training, can help us. Of course, if you are sedentary then junk food will impact you more and cause more problems but just because you look great and can run a marathon doesn't mean that you can eat whatever you want. Your choice of food matters.

So what's my take home perspective on all of this? I'm not over training by anybody's standard either O'Keefe's or Hutchinson's so I'm fine. I'm going to die early anyway so the best I can do is be healthy until the end. And lastly, my diet is fine. I'm going to do my strength training and stay strong and I'm going to do my fair share of endurance exercise to keep the heart healthy.

Actually, one more point. If you don't exercise or if your diet is horrible, please, do something about it. Extreme exercise may be a problem but even if it does kill you earlier, it's compared to those who do nothing. Do you hear that? If you aren't doing something you will die 6 years earlier and it's not a healthy six years. It's six years of pills and pain.

So tell me, what are you going to do this week to get off the couch and bring health to yourself?

4 weeks to go.

Admit it so you can move on

I had my first significant setback this week. Bursitis of the hip. Bursitis is inflammation of the joint due to overuse - turns out I've tried to do too much too soon. It's not serious as I can still run on it but the problem isn't going away and it's not going to go away unless I stop and treat it properly.

The good news is that with proper treatment this problem should disappear within a week or so. So, I've skipped my long run for the week, got the noninflammatory lotions working and taken it easy. Thankfully, after only 2 days the pain has subsided significantly.

Mentally I'm fine. Yes, this pain has stopped me from running for the moment but it's just a setback. Setbacks are not the end. Setbacks are obstacles that need to be worked around and resolved. If I don't listen to the setback but push ahead regardless then there is the real risk that the setback will turn into something more permanent.

Listening to setbacks is difficult though. They appear permanent. They appear to stop one's goal from being realised. Objective thinking is hard when you want something and something else is standing in the way. To stop running in order to heal also means I'm not progressing in my running since I'm not running. Until I can admit to myself that a break from running will lead to better running I'll continue to run despite the pain. Denial delays acceptance of the setback.

When I finally accepted my pain was real and was not going away (which took three weeks) finding a solution and building hope didn't take long. A quick search on Google for "running hip pain" immediately led to several articles and a short video on hip problems and remedies. Fifteen minutes later I knew what the problem was, what the remedy was and knowing that I have 6 weeks to go allows me time to recover and finish my preparation. Did you notice the biggest problem I had with this setback? Admitting I had a problem.

Most setbacks in running, body building or life can be solved so long as they are identified before they cause permanent damage. Admitting there is a problem is the toughest part in working around a setback. Without the admission nothing changes. Actually, there are changes. Bad changes. Changes that make and will continue to make your life miserable. With admission comes healthy change.

What's hampering your progress? If something could change right now that would make you better what would that be? What's stopping it from happening?

6 weeks to go.

1 starting line, 3 finishing lines.

There's only one starting line for the marathon but there are three finishing lines.

The starting line is race day. Every one is standing around with all their doubts and questions. Have I trained enough? Am I going to get a PB? Will I win this thing? (Personally I don't think I'll ever be asking that question before a marathon, but the top 3-5 runners are.) Have I forgotten anything? Do I have time to go to the bathroom? Questions abound. But there's an excitement around the starting line. It's also the first finish line.

Many people want to run a marathon. Most never will. It's a huge goal to pursue and one which you can be proud of even if you come last, after all, you still beat the guy lying on the couch. But even for those who want to and set out many still don't make it. I can't remember which marathon it was, whether it was my second or third, but 8 of us said that we would run it. For various reasons 5 didn't make it to the starting line. Some just got busy with life, others had to pull out due to injury. Only 3 made it to the starting line. Starting a marathon isn't running one. I guess anybody can show up - but usually the only people who do are those intending to finish it. The first finishing line is the starting line. You finished your training, you finished you preparation, you finished the first race which is to the starting line.

Then comes the second finish line. This line varies for people but it kicks in around the 32km mark. There's two reasons for this. Firstly, around 27km you start to run out of easy energy, that is, the energy that your body needs to run as easy sources and difficult sources. It takes more effort to convert the difficult sources into the energy your body needs to keep running strong. By 32km you're exhausted and now it's up to how much you want it. The second reason is that most people only train till 32km so once you get there it's new territory for your body. Any new experiences in the body are met with internal suspicion and the body will ask you to stop if it's all too hard - and of course it's hard, you don't have any easy energy left! While I would be reluctant to say that the first 32km is easy I would say that the last 10km is as difficult as the first 32km. However much you have suffered emotionally and physically for the first 32km you will suffer it all again over the next 10km. The comfort of the marathon ends at around 32km - the second finish line.

And then there's the final finish line. That last 10km is a mix of pain and excitement. Pain because you're exhausted, the feet are perhaps blistering, if you didn't prepare well your nipples are bleeding, your toenails are black and your legs are chaffing. Excitement because you have run 10kms lots of time, it's kinda familiar. And the last 200m that's just a laugh. At 42km you have 200m to go and it's hilarious - at least for me. I can sprint 200m and mentally I'm able to do it but the body can't. So, I start the final spring at the 42km mark. Within about 20m the legs fail and I'm back to plodding. But then excitement kicks in again closer to the finish and once again I sprint. Of course, that's not what it looks like. What I call sprinting at that stage is barely faster than a walk but I'm running fast than Bolt in my mind.

Each finish line has it's own hurdles to overcome. But that's the glory of the marathon - it turns you into a finisher. And that's something you can be proud of.

7 weeks to go.

Face the brutal facts

I've been lying to myself for the past few weeks. I want to be out running a minimum of 3 times per week. My key indicators have been my long run of 3 hours and my yassos. My yassos have been less than 4:30 min for 800 m with a 4:00 min rest. That's cool since my goal is to run a 4:30 hr marathon my yassos are ok. Today I did 10 of them at 4:20. That's a good indicator.

My other indicator has been my 3 hour run. I've done a couple of them and they are getting easier, not easy, but easier. Unfortunately my gps from years back is broken so I haven't really know what speed I've been doing. Since the yassos have been ok and the long run feels good I've convinced myself that the long run time is just fine. I could have used the gps on my phone but it the battery doesn't last for 3 hours using the gps so I haven't bothered.

Because these two indicators have been good I've been slack, lazy. I haven't trained as hard as I know I need to. I've given myself the excuse that I'm saving my muscle by only getting in 2 runs per week. Lies, especially lies to oneself, are so easy to believe when it makes life easier. And these lies have caused me to drift from my plan. Facing the brutal facts means seeing with fresh eyes what is blatantly obvious to anyone who has any ounce of concern. I didn't choose to face the facts, they jumped out at me.

As I was heading out for a one hour run I thought I would use the phone's gps as the battery was full and it was only going to be for one hour. I'm slow. Way, way too slow. Embarrassingly slow. The yassos are on track which means I have the speed but I'm not able to maintain it over the distance - even for one hour. With each passing 5 minutes my phone would tell me the distance. The first time it spoke I thought the gps was still getting a lock so the timing was out. By the third timing I was sure that the problem was me. By the 50 minute mark I was facing the brutal facts and I didn't like it.

There really are only two options when the facts brutally scream reality into your soul - deny them or change. Denial is easy but it comes with a price. In running a marathon the piper must be paid. I either pay the price now in order to run a good run leaving me satisfied and fulfilled or I pay the price of defeat - not of the marathon but of myself. Not running a marathon in the desired time is sad but if you give your best you stand tall knowing that you could have done nothing else. But to try halfheartedly under the pretense of giving one's best is to lie to oneself and that's defeat of the soul. Denial is too hard, too costly.

And so I have been shocked into reality. My conviction to run 3 times per week is now strong and sure and no longer clouded by lies. The path ahead will still be difficult but the prospect of satisfaction is more sure.

8 weeks to go.

Poor Man's Therapy

Therapy is expensive but if you need it then it's worth every cent you spend. Long distance running is poor man's therapy.

In long distance running, the 2-3 hour range, there's a lot of time to think. Lots of time to think and to think and to think. The time is great for working through ideas and concepts and all the good and bad stuff that's going on in your life. But there's something that happens, at least to me, at about the 2 hour mark that turns thinking into therapy.

Around 2 hours into the run I get exhausted. Really exhausted. Each step I take just adds to the exhaustion. Physical exhaustion becomes emotional exhaustion. The emotional walls that keep out the bad thoughts, the pains of yesterday, the thoughts of hurt and anger - those walls come down and I have to face them. I can keep running but I can't run away from myself. Unresolved stuff stares me in the face. They become my running partner. And they don't shut up. They want to talk. They want me to talk. They want to find peace and they don't care if I don't - at least in that moment.

And so I keep running and I keep thinking and the walls keep tumbling down and the conversation continues. And I'm too tired to keep them quiet and I'm too tired to put up a fight and so I listen to what they say to me. They don't shut because they are the ghosts of yesterday and they long to find their peace so they can move onto to another realm. And if I work with them, if I listen, and if I hear where they are coming from they will lead me to parts of my soul that I cannot go on my own. And once there I see the pain and the hurt and without all the distractions and denials I embrace the pain for what it is, for what it was, so that I can keep going forward, so that I can keep running.

Running is as much an emotional game as a physical one. Work with it and the emotional benefits will be as great as the physical ones.

9 weeks of therapy left.

Embrace the pain.

I worked with Peter years ago. He ran lots of sub 3 hour marathons. He inspired me. Peter gave me some advice about marathons that I have always remember. He said, "If you are going to run a marathon then you had better get used to pain." Marathons are painful.

Getting out of bed 3 hours earlier to fit in the long run is painful. Changing diets to stay healthy is painful. Having to increase the discipline of my bed time routine is painful. Running when I am exhausted is painful. Running out of energy 7kms from home is painful. Getting blisters on my feet half way through the training run is painful. Dealing with my emotional baggage that turns up mid run is painful. Having my shirt rub my nipples raw is painful. Falling short of my goal that I spent months and months preparing for is painful. If you are going to run a marathon you will need to embrace pain.

If you are a body builder than you know this. You understand hitting failure. You understand DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). You understand the need to push your body beyond comfortable in order to make it stronger. The same applies to running a marathon - only the pain is different. In body building the effort is intense and short. In running marathons the effort is sustained and, obviously, long. But you get the principle - pain is not the enemy; pain is the evidence of your progress. You know the cliches and slogans.

For those of you who are inactive who are reading this please note that I am not talking about acute pain. Acute pain is not good. This week my lower back was so sore it hurt to walk. That's acute pain. I missed two running sessions because I had to rest my back. The back is healing well so I could run my yassos today. Yassos are a tough run. Interval training is tough. It needs to be because I'm training myself to run faster. If I run comfortably then I won't improve so I must run at an uncomfortable pace so that my legs get stronger and faster. This is the pain that I must embrace. In body building if I want to get stronger I must lift heavy weights. Lifting light weights is comfortable but it won't make me stronger. To improve I must embrace the pain of discomfort.

Yes, you will suffer as you prepare for your marathon. But it's worth it. You become a finisher. You become one of those people that can start with a big goal and break it down into little goals. You become one of those people who understand consistency and progress and set backs and effort. You become a better person. A stronger person. You become a finisher. And that's worth suffering for.

What pain have your endured in order to achieve your goal? Was it worth it? For those of you who have run long races what pain did you endure in your training? What pain did you endure on race day? Leave a comment below as an encouragement to those who are starting out.

10 weeks to go.